International Red Panda Day (IRPD) 2025 Observed on 20 September.

International Red Panda Day (IRPD) is observed every year on the third Saturday of September to spread awareness about the endangered Red Panda, the first panda species. The 2025 observance was held on 20 September 2025, following the 2024 edition on 21 September, while the next IRPD will be marked on 19 September 2026.

      - International Red Panda Day was launched in 2010 by the Red Panda Network (RPN) to highlight conservation needs, with the first observance held on 18 September 2010. Since then, it has been observed annually as a global awareness campaign.

      - The Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens), also called the first panda or original panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas including Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar, and southwestern China. It inhabits temperate broadleaved forests at altitudes ranging from 2,400 to 3,900 metres.

      - Taxonomically, the Red Panda belongs to the unique family Ailuridae and is also known as Firefox, Lesser Panda, or Red-cat-bear. It was first described by French zoologist Frédéric Cuvier in 1825, several decades before the Giant Panda was scientifically recorded.

Main Point :-   (i) The species is classified as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List and is legally protected under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. It is also recognised as the state animal of Sikkim. Fewer than 10,000 Red Pandas survive in the wild, making habitat destruction their primary threat.

      (ii) Two distinct species of Red Panda are recognised. Ailurus fulgens is found in Nepal, northeastern India covering West Bengal, Sikkim and western Arunachal Pradesh, Bhutan and southern Tibet. Ailurus fulgens styani, larger and brighter than the Himalayan Red Panda, is found in eastern Arunachal Pradesh, Myanmar, and parts of China.

(iii) Red Pandas are arboreal mammals with dense reddish-brown fur, black bellies, and long bushy tails with red, buff or black rings. They spend nearly 55 percent of their day sleeping in trees, relying on forest habitats for survival.
About Red Panda Network (RPN)